1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holding device for a connector associated with an electrically controlled automotive mirror, and more particularly, to a device for fixing a connector to a portion of a mirror unit, wherein the connector is provided at an end of the wiring extending from an electrical driving device for controlling the automotive mirror.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An electrically controlled automotive mirror is generally provided with a connector at one end of the wiring extending from an electrically driving device used to position the automotive mirror. The connector is designed to be connected to another mated connector provided on a main harness provided in the body of an automotive vehicle.
If the mirror is to be mounted on the body of the vehicle, it is necessary to connect the connectors to each other in advance. Typically, a worker must use both hands for connecting the connectors together, while holding the mirror unit under his arm. This method tends to decrease working efficiency.
To cope with the above difficulty, the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. Hei. 2-48450 discloses an automotive mirror unit including a housing for housing an electrically driving device, a mirror base onto which the housing is mounted and a connector provided at one end of a wiring extending from the electrically driving device, the connector being held onto the mirror base.
In the disclosed mirror unit, the connector is inserted into and fitted to an opening formed in the mirror base, and securely fixed to the mirror base by means of screws.
With this arrangement, if the mirror unit is to be mounted onto an automotive vehicle body, a worker can grasp the mirror unit with one hand and a mated connector provided in the automotive vehicle body with the other hand, and directly connect two connectors together.
The disclosed arrangement, however, suffers from the following problems:
In order to fix the connector to the mirror base by means of the screws, it is necessary not only to form holes for the screws on the mirror base, but also to form projecting pieces having holes for the screws on the connector to be fixed.
Accordingly, the generally or already used connector cannot be used for the disclosed arrangement, and therefore, the specific connector having the projecting pieces formed with the holes is required for the arrangement.